UAV developer CyPhy Works closes $7M financing round

CyPhy Works today reported the close of a $7 million financing round, which it will use to expand its surveying- and situational awareness-focused unmanned aerial vehicles into various commercial sectors. The round was led by Lux Capital and featured participation from General Catalyst Partners, Felicis Ventures and several undisclosed angel investors.

CyPhy (pronounced “Sci-Fi”) Works is led by iRobot co-founder Helen Greiner. It has two announced products: an indoor hovering robot (EASE) and an outdoor multicopter platform (PARC). The robots were developed with an eye toward agriculture, mining, construction, oil and gas, insurance, infrastructure and other industries that could benefit from unmanned aerial reconnaissance.

“The opportunity to bring flying robots (i.e. UAVs) to commercial sectors for imaging, surveying, mapping, monitoring, and other applications is truly exciting,” Greiner said in a statement. “We are building a reliable and robust platform that is differentiated from hobbyist class UAVs, and is specifically designed for field operations in rough real-world conditions. CyPhy platforms will provide reliable ‘persistent,’ 24/7 remote imaging data previously unavailable to agronomists, surveyors, mine operators, insurance companies, and security agencies.”